The St. Louis Blues don’t have a high-end goalie like Jonathan Quick, but they seemingly had a nice thing going with the Jaroslav Halak-Brian Elliott one-two punch. With Elliott struggling along with the rest of the team, many Blues fans probably hope that Halak might ride to the rescue, but Ken Hitchcock provided some glum news after Game 2’s stunning loss.
Hitchcock ruled out Halak for the semifinals, so if the Blues are going to come back against the Los Angeles Kings, they’ll have to do it with Elliott or someone else.
It’s wrong to pin all the blame on Elliott because the St. Louis system seems to be collapsing under the Kings’ pressure, but Hitchcock didn’t seem too interested in giving prospect Jake Allen a shot. Many coaches would probably switch goalies out after a 4-0 first period, but Elliott stayed in net and the Blues failed to rebound.
What do you think the Blues should do about their goaltending situation? Do they have any choice but to go with Elliott?
And do they at least slightly regret trading Ben Bishop now?